Happy New Year from the EiD team!

2013 was eventful for sustainable energy issues and 2014 will be even more so.  Thoughts are now turning towards targets for 2030.  Will there only be an EU target for greenhouse gas emissions?  Or will there also be targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency?  There does not appear to be any clear consensus.

There will be elections for the European Parliament coming soon.  We have seen the important role that the EP plays in shaping sustainable energy policies. EiD readers should ensure that the candidates in their region are fully committed to ambitious, but realistic policies.  2014 will also see a new Commission, meaning that many of the current commissioners for energy, climate change, industry and environment, to name but a few of them, will change.  These changes will undoubtedly have an impact on European policies and implementation.

It will be important to watch the energy transition in Germany, now that there is a new coalition government.  And readers must also watch what the UK’s coalition government will be doing on energy policy, now that it has shown its strong support for a significant expansion of nuclear energy.  Surely, this will not diminish its support for sustainable energy but the signs are mixed.

EiD will be monitoring developments for you throughout 2014.  In 2013 visits to our website increased by more than 25% to over 23,000.  Visitors came from over 100 countries, but primarily from Europe.  The comments we have received from our readers have been most gratifying and we will do our best to provide top quality posts that help you keep up with latest events, ideas and analysis.  We also have a growing number of you following us on Twitter and Facebook!

Thanks for being part of the EiD community!